Tide-induced erosion ravaging Cox's Bazar coastline

Soil erosion under the impact of the low created in the deep sea and the turbulent waves caused by tidal surge is causing considerable havoc on various points of the Cox's Bazar coastline.

A large number of structures, including those adjacent to the beach, police boxes and lockers, have been swept away by sea waves, and a good many are also at risk of destruction.

Sedge plants in their thousands have been uprooted in the 120-kilometre area of the sea beach from Teknaf to Nazirartek. Tourist Shafiqul Chowdhury, who came to visit the sea beach, said, "I have never seen such a condition of the Cox's Bazar beach. I have been visiting Cox's Bazar for about 20 years. I have been to the beach at least one hundred times in these 20 years. But I have never seen such deadly erosion playing havoc on the beach."

"Due to this erosion, the reputation of the longest sea beach in the world is being tarnished. The local administration needs to play a strong role in this regard," he added.

On Monday (July 28), an unusually high intensity of erosion was noticed at several points of the sea beach in Cox's Bazar. A watch tower collapsed on the beach and plunged into the sea. A restaurant is also on the verge of collapse. The surrounding area faced power outage after a tree fell on two electric poles at Shaibal Point. The tree was later cut down and removed, but some more poles are at risk.

Locals say that if soil erosion continues at the current rate, the international cricket stadium, the tourist police office, the district administration's information and complaint centre, and other facilities built almost adjacent to the beach, are in danger of being lost to the sea soon. According to the Department of Forest, the first grove of tamarisk trees was created in 1961-62 in a 12-hectare sandbank from Nazirartek to Himchari in Cox's Bazar Sadar Range.

The tamarisk garden was expanded in 1974. Since then, this tamarisk garden has been enhancing the beauty of the seashore. It has also been protecting the coastal people from natural disasters. However, more than half the garden was destroyed in the devastating cyclone of 1991. But the sandbank of the beach started breaking due to natural disasters and tidal waves. As the sea level rose, the sand moved away from the base due to the tidal waves. This led to the disappearance of the beautiful tamarisk garden.

The Forest Department said that the tamarisk garden is facing the highest risk due to invasion of the sea waves.

For the past 10 years, thousands of tamarisk trees have been disappearing into the sea one after another. These trees are disappearing everywhere from Nazirartek to Teknaf. The maximum number of tamarisk trees have disappeared this season.

Cox's Bazar South Forest Division Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Md Nurul Islam said that due to natural disasters, the sandbanks of the beach are breaking getting struck by waves during the tide.

If a dam could have been built on the seashore using a modern method to protect the coast through the Water Development Board or any other project, the tamarisk trees would have been saved

Cox's Bazar Water Development Board Executive Engineer Nurul Islam said that they were trying to prevent erosion by installing geotextile bags in this environmentally critical area every year.

"A project to build a strong dam for permanent protection has been prepared and sent to the ministry. If that project is passed, I hope this problem will be solved permanently," he hoped.

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